


Romeo, oh Romeo!

by isisisatis



Category: Babylon 5, Babylon 5 & Related Fandoms
Genre: M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-20 05:05:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8237095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isisisatis/pseuds/isisisatis
Summary: A tentative beginning





	

 

Romeo, oh Romeo!  
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°  
By Isisisatis

 

"Ah, Neroon, welcome, welcome. You are running a little late, aren't you? Didn't you want to be here hours ago?"

Tiredly, Neroon embarked from his flyer, relieved that his former weapons instructor had waited up to greet him personally. It would have been shameful to be seen in his condition by some unfamiliar Anla'shok.

"Greetings, Sech Durhann. I have to excuse my late arrival but I have been held up by business." He readjusted the handle of his bag on his shoulder. The small satchel seemed to be heavier than its actual weight and putting one foot in front of the other required all of his attention. He followed Durhann's lead, not really paying attention where they went.

"Your room is prepared, Neroon. Do you require anything else but a good nights rest?" Durhann's tone contained a teasing note but the underlying concern was plainly evident.

"How about a new life?" he jested halfheartedly. A suppressed yawn made his eyes tear up and he had to blink several times until he could see clearly again.

"I think an adequate mate would help with that. One who keeps you in line and helps with your burden."

"You know that I have given up on that since Katronn's death. What will be, will be and will come when it is time. - Did that just make any sense?"

"More than you might think. Come my friend, let's get you to your rooms. You are so tired that your eyes are crossing."

Tired didn't even cover it. He didn't know if he would be able to catch up on all the necessary rest even if he slept through for several days. And he guessed once he was laying down he wouldn't be able to fall into reverie. Though his body was already more asleep than awake his mind was still active.

When they entered one of the buildings, their steps were loud in the empty corridor and the light was low. The entire atmosphere spoke of night and rest. He felt like an unwanted intruder.

Durhann stopped in front of a door at the end of the corridor and let them enter. It was a small, modest room with only the barest necessities, a sleeping platform, a cupboard and a table with chairs. But it felt comfortable nonetheless with its friendly colors and the generous windows and an access to a terrace.

And suddenly the sleeping platform was luring him with its soft mattress and a light blanket, the pillow enticed him to rest his head on it. Just sleep, no obligations, no appointments. Four entire days of blissful nothingness.

Not caring to pretend further in front the teacher who had already seen him at his worst, he simply dropped the bag on the floor and bonelessly slumped onto the bed, his eyes already closed. Then he was lost to the world, instantly and entirely without artificial help.

* * *

The next morning he woke at his usual time, which meant far too early for his taste. But it had always been difficult for him to shake ingrained sleeping habits and after half an hour of defiant, restless shifting, he capitulated and rose. He went over to the windows, opened the curtains and was instantly blinded by bright sunlight. At least the weather god was playing nice and he might have some beautiful days ahead. Although he wouldn't mind a forceful summer thunder storm with all its glorious, refreshing commotion.

But today was still a day for work, albeit rather less stressful than his usual fair. It would be more of a pleasant perusal of the warrior Caste trainees among the Anla'shok, and he had all day for that. Luckily there weren't many of them and maybe he would have the time to talk to each of them personally.

He wondered how yesterday's negotiations would continue without his presence. They were bargaining with the Worker Caste for the creation of new ships since there had been several losses during the wars and they also needed a modernization of the fleet. The treaties had already been set up, but so far the Worker Caste's and the Warrior Caste's ideas about certain points were not compatible. On the one hand the Worker Caste had every right to state their conditions but...

Great, barely awake for an hour and he was already worrying again! He was on constant alertness, never a moment at rest even when he could allow himself to forget his responsibilities for a time.

He straightened his shoulders with resolve and opened the patio doors to step outside. What was the sense to enjoy the sunshine from behind glass? Performing a calming meditation in movement outside would kill the time until morning meal and hopefully would put his mind and body at ease.

Slowly and conscious of his surrounding, he strolled around the grounds surrounding the Ranger facility until he found a spot that called to him. It was in the sun-spotted shadow of a still young tree, which exuded a certain elegance in its slender limbs and yet was already surrounded by a certain air of dignity. He disposed his boots and the outer layers of his crumpled uniform - maybe he should at least have changed before coming here - and laid them down at the foot of the tree.

Deeply inhaling the fresh air and releasing it slowly, he turned his face towards the sun and prepared himself for the meditation. He closed his eyes, planted his feet firmly on the soft grass; his breath flowed calmly and bit by bit his heart joined the rhythm and his thoughts vanished to make only place for the perception of his own body.

Once he was satisfied with his state, he started the age old motions, beginning with a barely perceptible shifting of weight. In a slight circular movement of his whole body, the pressure on his feet shifted from an equal distribution over the entire foot to the left side of his feet, to the pads, to the right sides and to the heels. After a while he changed the pattern to a figure eight and finished again with a simple circle in the opposite direction.

After settling his feet on the ground again, he let his hands and arms join the unhurried motions - broad and sweeping - soaking up the calmness of this peaceful surrounding in his mind: the faint rustle of wind through the leaves over his head, warmth of the light on his face from the real sun, the tickling, soft grass under the soles of his feet and the pure air smelling of life.

The slow repetition of the same, simple movements to gather energy finally soothed him and just as slowly as he had started, he let the movements taper of again to nothingness.

He stayed for a moment, eyes still closed, hands loosely hanging down, his muscles warm and pliable.

This was... This was.

Reluctant to rise from this perfect moment of utter freedom, he hesitantly opened his eyes and focused his vision on the outside world again.

The shadow had travelled with the sun and there were some people milling about in the distance. To his left a cloud of insects hung billowing in the air, held together by unseen forces until a blast of wind blew them away.

He sighed contently and turned towards his clothes to gather them up for his way back.

At his first gaze he noticed his boots still standing where he left them, but his cloak seemed to be missing. He hesitated and had to blink twice until he realized that a small animal had curled up on his folded cloak, obscuring the fabric.

He took a careful step closer as not to disturb the sleeping animal and crouched a few meters away. He first had thought it was a gok from the size but it looked more like a tiny mebel with ridiculously colorful fur of white, black and red-brown patches.

The animal didn't sleep as he had thought but observed him through slitted eyes.

"Hello, little one."

At the sound of his voice, the strange animal's eyes opened fully. Languidly it rose to a stand and stretched the long, slender limbs, yawning widely with a pink tongue curling gracefully between pointed teeth. Then it suddenly jumped up the tree and vanished.

"Nice to have met you, too," Neroon muttered, still staring after the animal but he was unable to locate it in the foliage of the tree. He wondered what kind of animal it was. He was quite certain that it wasn't native, even if it bore a remarkable resemblance to mebels. Despite its diminutive size.

When he gathered up his clothes, he noticed that his folded coat was covered with an ample amount of white hair. He shook it out but the result was less than satisfying. He brushed at the hair with his hands rather unsuccessfully. Frowning in annoyance he hoped nobody would notice it.

* * *

The inspection later in the day went well and Neroon had insured himself that the warriors who had joined the Anla'shok were adapting to their new environment. Not that he had expected anything else. He had made sure they had a mentor in Durhann who kept an eye on the recruits be it either to reprimand or support them.

Afterwards he had the rest of the day for himself and he indulged in a long swim in the lake and afterwards soaked in the hot springs. He was gratefully undisturbed the entire day, only received the one or other polite greeting and then was left in peace. The evening he pleasantly spent reading a novel he had received from his mother for his last birthday and then he decided to go to bed early since he wanted to catch up on some sleep.

And Neroon slept quite well, until he was woken by a horrid noise. It sounded like a wailing child, like somebody being tortured, somebody in severe pain!

He jumped from the platform and rushed towards the patio door, threw it open and was outside in mere seconds, where he was greeted with the words: "Romeo, you fucking cat, that is already the third night, can't you go somewhere else to yowl!"

And then he was doused with a bucket full of ice-cold water.

"Ups, sorry there! Wasn't meant for you, mate, but for the cat. Do you see it?"

Cat? Not understanding what the other was talking about, Neroon shook his head in disgruntled puzzlement.

The Ranger obviously took this for a negation to his question because he spoke again, "Darn. They should finally castrate this wanker so we can sleep in peace! If we are lucky he has run off anyway. `Night, mate."

Pretending not to be unsettled by this strange encounter, Neroon stoically changed his clothes and went back to bed, luckily without further disturbance.

* * *

Of course his morning started just as early as yesterday and he executed his meditation as the day before. The only difference was, that he met the strange creature not under the tree but found it sitting on the patio when he returned to his quarters.

It seemed it had been waiting for him because when he opened the door to enter his room, the animal trotted over to him, brushed briefly along his leg - leaving hair on his trousers - and was about to slip through the small opening, already having wormed the head and a forepaw inside.

"Oooh, no, you don't! I don't need you shedding your hair over the rest of my clothes and the whole interior decoration."

And to his surprise, the little animal looked at him with intelligent eyes, gave a soft sound and sat down in front of the door and even stayed there when he stepped inside. It seemed to understand him, just like a mebel. Amazing!

He left the door ajar to see if the creature really had understood to stay outside. Obviously it did, but it was also quite sneaky because when he turned his back, a paw was placed over the threshold but it was at once retreated when he looked at the little one again. And what was even more amazing, was the innocence with which it pulled off this act. Curious little fellow. It watched each of his movements with utter concentration and interest.

He almost regretted to lock out the little fuzzy thing when he went to breakfast and it continued to sit in front of the pane despite the closed door. But he already was running late for his morning meal with Durhann and Turval and finally left his temporary lodgings with a shooing wave towards the animal.

The morning meal was a pleasant affair and he was quite grateful that his companions mostly stayed away from the topic of politics during their conversations. Instead they told little anecdotes about new recruits and their respective families. Maybe they sensed that this was just intended as a casual meeting and not a conference.

After the lengthy breakfast, he was invited to a sparring session with Durhann and the *old* Minbari reminded him that he was still superior to Neroon and that Neroon had yet much to learn. Mostly because he seemed to have forgotten the subtler arts of some moves and had become *sloppy*. He was ordered to train each day during his stay under the supervision of the Sech himself. He felt more honored than reprimanded and instantly received a blow on his bone crest for the disrespectfulness of a pleased smile.

But he also knew that it was rather meant as a compliment than criticism of his skills when Sech Durhann 'condescended to reteach one of his barely mediocre accomplishments'.

After the training they took the long way back to the main building, strolling through the greenery, conversing occasionally.

"Yes. I heard Shal Mayan would sing at the reopening. Though I've not been invited. I'll follow the ceremony via net, there is supposed to be a live coverage."

"Be grateful. You can switch off as soon as you get bored or disinterested. I'll have to sit through the entire session. I'm really not looking forward to it. What I have to bear being in the eye of public due to my position."

"To be honest, I can't say it becomes you. You look a little worse for the wear."

"Why, thank you. I can always use the one or other compliment. It is rather encouraging."

"Is that why you'll stay here for four days? Trying to escape the press and have some recuperation time? Not because you want to look how the recruits from the Warrior Caste do in their training?"

"Yes." There was no sense in talking around it, if he even looked like he needed a vacation.

"Well, Neroon, I'll try to make this time a pleasant as possible for you. The new Caste leader should be in his best condition."

"Thank you, Sech Durhann," Neroon bowed slightly to his old drill master, appreciating the support. The peacefulness of the old ground of the Ranger headquarters had already put him at ease. And the solitude relaxed him more than he had expected. No officials and aids following him, no calls from whoever. He could stroll around the garden without being harassed by the media. He desperately needed the time to concentrate on himself.

Neroon and the Sech stopped on a bridge overlooking an orchard. They both leaned against the rail, Durhann looking into the swirling clear water, Neroon gazing in the opposite direction with his back towards the rail. There was a long silence which was filled with the smell of the fruit trees, the sound of birds and the water and sunshine. Sunshine blinding his eyes and warming his body. He had become too acclimated to space, only knowing the cold light of distant stars.

Of course he loved the unrestricted space, its unbelievable vastness, its dark secrets, the freedom from gravitation. But feeling, actually only feeling the wind teasing around his face and the heat seep through his clothes was blissful. Especially nowadays, when he barely had the time to taste a meal he was eating or relish the softness of his bed before dropping of in exhaustion.

A distant laugh had Neroon look up from where he was drowsily staring at the tips of his boots.

There was one of the Human Anla'shok sitting on the ground under a tree, playing with a gok.

Frowning, Neroon walked the two steps to the other rail and had a closer look. No, this wasn't a gok. It was far more graceful. And definitely feral. A hunter, not a pet animal. More like a very miniature version of a mebel. A very patchy mebel.

See, see, his little furry friend.

Neroon smiled at the play before him. The animal was chasing after a ball of feathers the Human had tossed. Ducking in the grass, attentively observing the toy with the eyes seemingly glued to it, the ears also pricked in the direction of the object. It wasn't to be distracted from its prey by anything.

Then it pounced onto the feathers, biting and clawing at it, `killing the prey', rolling onto its back and obviously on purpose rolling the object towards the Anla'shok to begin the game anew. The animal's eyes now were no longer on the object but on the Human.

The Human took the toy and threw it in the air where the little mebel had already waited eagerly sitting on its haunches. The animal now sprang into the air, fore paws stretched far and the ball was caught elegantly in mid-flight. But now the animal didn't relinquish the feather ball but instead trotted off with it in the mouth. It was only walking a slow pace and it was looking challengingly at the Human.

Clearly intelligent.

Unexpectedly the Human jumped to his feet, running after the small animal which then took off at a rapid pace. But not going far, only leading the Human in a wide circle around the blanket on the ground. Teasingly the animal sometimes would slow down to let the Human catch up only to take off again in a rapid pace. At one of these manoeuvres the animal had misjudged the Anla'shok and it got almost caught. With a desperate leap it escaped but only to trip up afterwards and tumble through the grass.

The Human laughed when the animal shook its head and promptly started to straighten its ruffled fur with the tongue.

The Ranger went over to the animal and picked toy and animal up from the ground. The not-a-gok-and-not-quite-a-mebel put a paw to the Human's face and touched its nose to the Human's. Yes, more of a mebel than a gok. It was the same kind of greeting nose-rub.

It seemed play-time was over and man and animal settled down on the blanket with the Human lying on his back and the animal settling on his chest where it was stroked and petted. Both seemed to enjoy this calm time just as much as the playing. It was a peaceful picture within a still unsettled universe and it refreshed his heavy heart.

"Neroon? What has caught your attention?"

"This animal. What is it? It isn't Minbari, is it?"

"Ah, and I thought it was the Human. The animal is one of our 'temple cats' as they are called by the Human Rangers. One of them brought a female of the species from Earth; it was pregnant. This is one of seven off-spring. There also is an entirely black one, it looks even more like a small mebel. Amazing, isn't it?"

"It's a graceful animal. And less offending as a gok as it seems more intelligent."

"Oh, yes. You would wonder at all the trouble those little ones have already caused!"

"Why would I inquire after this Human?" Suddenly he was more interested in Durhann's unexpected remark than in the cat-creature.

Durhann looked at him calculatingly. "You don't recognize him then? You fought Denn'sha."

"But... he's so young! I remember him with more hair. And he had a beard." Yes, it probably had been the beard that had deceived him. Only truly ancient Minbari grew beards. It surely had lead to his missjudgement. "Maybe I would have recognized him when talking to him. I wouldn't have overlooked his voice. What was his name? Mark'es? Why is he here, isn't he working closely with Delenn?"

"His full name is Marcus Cole and he is here much for the same reason as you are. Though less willingly. Delenn ordered him to take some time off. Yet he seems to enjoy it so far, although he's a little bored."

"Then I better don't disturb his peace. He sure isn't inclined to meet his tormentor."

"Hm. I'm not sure. As far as I have understood, he doesn't hold a grudge against you. He blames part of what happened on himself. It *was* him who challenged you and you even offered a way out for him. He holds you in high regard for your honest and open revelation."

"He has been talking to you?"

"Yes. I made him once I found out about two of my former students fighting Denn'sha. I also made you talk, didn't I?"

Oh, this impertinent innocene! Only Durhann could pull it off in an unoffending way.

Old meddler! It was almost clear where Durhann intended to lead the both of them. He just knew he had been revealing too much about the Denn'sha or rather the *admiration and respect* for his opponent.

* * *

The next morning was a late one for Neroon and he luxuriated in the possibility to laze around a while longer.

Slowly he dressed after eventually departing with the sleeping platform and then stepped out onto the patio and was instantly tripped up.

He looked back after he had caught himself without making a total idiot of himself.

The totally unruffled cat-creature lay across the entire opening, all limbs stretched out in a relaxed fashion, licking the spotless white fur on its chest.

"Hello, little friend." Neroon greeted the animal with a smile. He crouched down, to have a closer look at the cat.

The cat continued to lick, this time an equally spotless white paw, still unruffled by Neroon's stumbling entry and presence. The fur looked soft and made to touch.

The cat seemed finished with its morning ablutions and now was staring at Neroon with green eyes.

Neroon stared back, fascinated with the color. He stretched out a hand to touch the cat and card his hand through the soft and patchy pelt.

He only had made brief contact with the head of the cat when suddenly razorblade-sharp, until now hidden claws were piercing his skin and leaving red marks when he pulled back his hand.

"You are a feisty one, aren't you?" No mebel would have attacked him like this, without warning. And they were slower to strike than this animal.

A chuckle sounded behind Neroon and a shadow fell over him.

"That's what you get when you don't introduce yourself properly to a cat and when you ignore the warning signs."

Neroon turned around without rising and was meeting another pair of green eyes. Marcus Cole. Fascinating! Was this a color which often occurred on Earth? He sure had not yet seen it in a Minbari.

"Good morning, Romeo."

The cat stretched and lazily wandered over to the crouching man, letting his head stroked before brushing its body along Marcus Cole's leg and then silently wandering off into the bushes.

"Good morning, Neroon."

"Good morning, Anla'shok Marcus Cole."

"Just Marcus is fine... considering our earlier acquaintance. And habit," the Human smiled and it made Neroon smile in return.

"I see that Romeo has adopted another one of us bipeds and is already teaching him the laws." Marcus leaned in and whispered conspiratorily, "Because it is a well-hidden secret, that the cats are the true rulers here and not Entil'zha. But in contrast to Delenn, they can be bribed with food. Fish usually works best with Romeo. Good luck!" With the last words Marcus had straightened and now waved good-by while walking away.

"Thank you, Marcus."

Yes, he would have recognized this voice always and everywhere and now he would also never forget those unusual, sparkling eyes. And this infectious smile.

Strange that he hadn't payed attention to them like this during their fight. Of course he had observed Marcus closely but obviously only with the eyes of an opponent and not...

Not with they eyes of...

Oh dear.

It was all Durhann's fault anyway!

* * *

Following Marcus' advice, he gathered some fish for the cat-creature after he had finished his meditation the next morning.

And just as if it knew, the animal was already waiting at his door, mewling loudly and having only eyes for the dish Neroon was carrying.

"Good morning, Romeo," Neroon tried the cat's name.

Romeo tilted the head, now looking at him instead of the food and gave another, more silent sound.

Neroon placed the dish with the food on the stones of the patio and sat down next to it, watching how the cat slowly but steadily devoured the bits of raw fish.

When the cat was finished, it made sure to remove even the tiniest trace from the porcelaine, and then from its whiskers by daintily licking over the muzzle.

Again, Neroon tried to touch the animal, thinking it might allow the contact because of the food and because it was indeed tame and didn't mind to be touched by Marcus.

But when he reached towards the cat, it avoided his touch by a simple sidling of the flexible back and instead rubbed along his trousers - again - and left with a teasing flick of its tail against his wrist.

Bloody animal! He couldn't remember why he had wanted to touch it in the first place. It caused nothing but trouble, left hair everywhere, had scratched him, woken him from a good night's rest and he had been doused because of it. There was absolutely no reason to try to get the favour of this creature!

"He's playing hard to get, isn't he?"

The familiar voice had him turn around pleasantly surprised; he bowed slightly in greeting, "Good morning again, Marcus."

"Good morning, yourself!"

"So the cat is a he? I was already wondering."

"Yeah, greatest and most loveable prick far and wide. I wonder how he could have eaten this fish after he stole a hunk of flesh from the kitchen. Must have been quite a sight when he dragged it through the tilted window."

"He stole a piece of meat?"

"Yes, the cook told me at breakfast. He only saw Romeo jumping outside with something in the mouth and then found a piece of his lunch preparations missing. He was furious. I found it hilarious!"

"So Romeo's a thief on top of being a demanding tease. I really don't know if I should actually like this animal."

"How can one not like cats! But then, there are two kinds of people: cat lovers and cat haters. Which one are you?" Marcus tilted his head to one side, shadowing his eyes with one hand.

"I'm beginning to hate it. Mebel's are rather easier to deal with."

"Cats and mebels? Same difference. So if you get along with mebels, why the difficulty with Romeo? Might your hate rather stem from wounded pride? Not used to being ignored?" Marcus teased him with a mischievious glint in his eyes.

If anything, those eyes that would be his downfall. So expressive. So deep and yet open.

Honoring the question with a raised eyebrow, which caused Marcus to raise an eyebrow of his own, he snorted dismissively. Wounded pride because of an animal? Never.

Neroon desired to prolong their encounter but he had no idea how to continue their conversation. So he sat down on a low wall which devided the patio from the sourrounding and invited Marcus to join him with a wave of his hand.

"Would you mind to answer me some questions?"

"Well, you can always ask, though I won't promise to answer. And should you ask stupid questions, you'll get a stupid answer, consider yourself warnded. So what are your questions?"

Was that nervous babbling or was the Human always talking this much, Neroon wondered.

Not that he minded the Human talking all the while. He had a beautiful voice with an endearing accent to it. Although the mix of Minbari with several words in standard took getting used to. At least Marcus wasn't relying on translators but made it a point to use the native language - even if it was Adronato.

Still curious about the eye color Neroon found himself staring constantly at the Anla'shok, always trying to establish and maintain eye contact.

"About the cat, Romeo? You said he gave a warning sign before he scratched me yesterday. I didn't notice."

"The tail. Romeo had been flicking his tail constantly. That is a sure sign that a cat is irritated and wants to be left alone. Don't mebels do that also? Ah, no, don't answer that one. I forgot, they rather growl for warning."

"And I think it was also Romeo who was making quite a noise some nights ago?"

Marcus chuckled. "Mating call. Very annoying affair. I wonder why they don't have him neutered. They would be rid of the nightly ruckus."

"It seems cold water is also considered to be a solution."

"Well, more or less. How do you know?"

"Bad aim from one of your colleagues."

Marcus placed a hand over his mouth but Neroon could clearly see the laughter in the green eyes. Green like the new grass in spring. Absolutely fascinating!

"Any more questions?"

"Yes, one more. Is green a common eye color on earth? I have not seen the like here on Minbar, not even in animals and here I meet two beings with this unusual trait."

Marcus looked a little taken aback by the question. "Well, it's not unusual in cats, but is a little rare among Humans. Most eyes are shades of blue or brown, just like with Minbari."

"Ah, so its not only you who's special but also your eye color."

Marcus laughed. "You must confuse me with somebody else, I'm certainly nobody special, just your usual next-door-hero battling evil."

"Putting yourself on the same level as Bat'zha" Neroon was delighted when his remark caused Marcus to laugh. More seriously he continued, "Considering I only ever met two humans who impressed me and one of them was Valen, I would say you certainly made an impression on me and therefore rank quite high in the special department."

"I appreciate a man who lets himself be converted by me. Flatterer. I would almost think you were coming... never mind. - Nice landscape around here, isn't it? Rather pleasant view with all the nature and the... wildlife. Rather charming. I was glad to have seen you training again today. I rather missed you yesterday."

Wildlife, indeed! This Human really had a wicked sense of humour. "You were watching me perform my meditation?"

"Yes... I'm usually around here, taking a walk in the morning to watch the sunrise down by the lake, you know. It is a nice change to have something different but equally enjoyable to look at."

"At your service," Neroon winked at Marcus, feeling quite smug. Marcus had been watching him and had even been pleased! And he had said he had missed 'him', not the view. Not that it hurt that Marcus also seemed to appreciate what he saw. Maybe...

Of course Durhann seldom interfered without reason. Therefore...

Marcus chuckled and lifted the infernal cat-creature - which had materialized out of nowhere - onto his lap and began to card fingers through the soft fur. From the looks, Romeo enjoyed it immensely. Dratted animal! Now he was even getting jealous of it because he wouldn't mind Marcus' strong fingers stroke over his back just like this.

"What are you doing here anyway? Aren't you busy as caste leader? No appointments to keep? No bureaucrats to please? No toadies to mock about?"

"Not at the moment. I'm here on vacation for a few days. Though officially I'm inspecting the new Anla'shok from the Warrior Caste."

Oh, this infernal cat! Now it even started purring in pleasure, surely mockingly loud Neroon surmised, but still watching him through slitted eyes. He was almost missing Marcus' answer so occupied was his mind with the cat.

"I think you could use that. You are't looking like the model of a health commercial. - Oh, you like that, you little bugger, don't you, Romeo?"

"You are the second one who mentions my *haggard* look," Neroon tried to distract Marcus' attention from the cat.

"Well, you have been looking better after I clobbered you over the head during our fight and worse only after the Starfire. You are looking a little tired around the edges, nothing too obvious I would say, if one doesn't know you. Stressful job to be Caste leader?"

"I've never imagined. Shakiri made it look easy."

"That's because he didn't really do anything I guess, despite giving orders. That's something you'll have to learn: delegate some tasks to people you trust. You don't have to do everything on your own. - Yeah, and looks who's talking... I'm in the same position as you because of exactly the same problem."

"Don't trust anybody to do anything for you and everything I haven't done myself won't be done the correct way," Neroon elaborated.

"Yes."

"I only wonder how Delenn does it. Alone for that she has gained even more of my admiration and respect. The strenght in this small hybrid frame must be enormous. And she even finds the time to care about the people who are working for her, ordering you to take a vacation."

"It wasn't her directly who sent me here. It was Stephen, the chatterbox, who won't give me a bill of health until I had at least two weeks free from work or he threatened to send me six weeks for treatment at a health resort. He told Delenn and she called on Durhann to enforce the outtime. And Delenn, Delenn has Lennier to take a great portion of her burden and she never was one to take on minor tasks. She only deals with the big and satisfying ones. Total adrenaline chunky if you ask me."

It seemed the Human was always talking this much. Nervousness didn't seem to be involved.

Neroon's attention was drawn to Romeo again, when the animal gently tapped him with a paw on the leg and gazed up at him.

"He wants you to pet him. Scratch him under the chin, he particularly likes that. Like most cats."

Feeling as if he had been challanged, Neroon did as suggested and was rewarded with an unimaginable loud purr from the small animal.

They were both petting the animal now, Marcus stroking along an arching back and Neroon carefully stroked the head and chin. The cat was in pure bliss and had his eyes closed, leaning into the touches.

"Are you always so respectless about your superiors?" Neroon picked up their conversation.

"Only if they aren't likely to hear it or I do it in such an underhanded way that they don't even realise I have been respectless. I can be quite sneaky if necessary. Though I prefere to blow up things, its more in accordance with my nature."

"I have heard that you tend to act out your emotions in a physical way."

"Durhann! This coniving, old bastard. He got you, too, eh? Having 'the talk' with you?"

They grinned at each other and then broke out into laughter. Yes, there clearly was a connection and understanding between them.

It was clear now, what Durhann had seen. The drill master knew both of them better than they knew each other and had seen a potential that they would get along just fine; be it as friends... or more. And thinking about it... hadn't it been Durhann who had suggested the time for the inspection?

Conniving bastard, indeed, Neroon thought with a fond smile.

They settled into a comfortable silence, both of them still stroking the silky fur of Romeo. If Marcus' hair had a similar texture?

Accidentally... well, rather led by subconsciousness... their hands briefly brushed. A jolt ran through Neroon, settling as pleasant warmth near his heart.

"How much longer are you staying here?" Marcus eventually broke their silence.

"I'll leave tomorrow evening. Unfortunately."

"Oh."

Neroon wasn't sure if Marcus had made a dissappointed sound because it was so faint. But he thought, Marcus indeed might have. The Human had lowered his eyes and was biting his lip, looking rather downcast.

"Would you forgo your meditation and join me watching the sun rise tomorrow? We could have morning meal together afterwards," Marcus eventually asked almost shyly.

Yes, yes, yes! YES! Either this would work out or it wouldn't. But either way he would be able to spend some more time with Marcus. "There's nothing I would like more. Shall we meet here at ...?"

"At 0600."

Infectious smile and sparkling eyes again. Yes, he was falling hard. But if he was lucky, he might have a most wonderful landing.

"At 0600."

 

 THE END

 

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: This is only fan fiction, therefore I don't make any money  
> and Babylon 5 is owned by somebody else.  
> A/N: Story for the advent challenge 2005 from LadyQ.  
> A/N2: Minbari words are from the Hightower dictionary.
> 
> Sorry, KerorinSama! I forgot to ask if I may use Bat'zha for a tiny  
> little bit? I hope this is OK? I only remembered when I read your  
> advent story where the action figures played some role again. Darn my  
> selective mind! Sorry again. *looks really, really contrite*


End file.
